


Collide

by Neoru



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Developing Relationship, Light Hallucinations, M/M, Minor Rose/Kanaya, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-01
Updated: 2013-04-11
Packaged: 2017-12-07 03:24:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/743638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neoru/pseuds/Neoru
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You have never been in love and nothing’s going to change that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

You have never been in love and nothing’s going to change that.

You’re already starting college and you would proudly admit that you have never had a crush, liked anyone, or even been in a relationship. It just feels silly to go around kissing someone who just asked you out and then break up a few months after. Sometimes you get an overwhelming feeling that you’re lonely and joke about how you need a girlfriend or boyfriend or something of that sort but you could never bring yourself to open your heart up to people. Sure you have close friends and potential mates but when someone asked you to date them, you would say yes without thinking but then break up with them the next day.

You are motherfucking Dave Strider and you have never been in a relationship.

It is a fact that you probably won’t find anyone of interest in Seattle, Washington. You only moved up here because this college has a great photography program and they gave you a full on scholarship. There was no way you were going to passing this up.

You’re now lying on your bed, stretched out and resting after bringing in all your boxes to your single bed room. Since you paid a little more extra money, you’ve gotten the last single room in the freshman dorms and are you goddamn glad for that.

There was more room for important things like your pictures and of course, you wouldn’t leave your house without your precious turntables. Hell yeah you would pay extra bucks to live in your own dorm. The only bad side about it was that you lived on the top floor.

You sit up and debate on cleaning up a bit more or going out to explore. You decide on exploring and grab a jacket before stepping out of your dorm to make your way down to the main door.

The weather outside was warm but a little chilly, to you at least. Walking to your left, you look around and notice all the opened food places. For college kids, you guessed. You then walked past a café and entered into a pizzeria. Coffee wasn’t really your thing. You honestly did better with those five-hour energy shots than a cup of coffee anyways.

Inside the pizzeria, the floor is checkered with white and red tiles with plain red walls matching the school colors for The Jackals. There are a few pictures hanging up on the walls showing the history of this place.

You ignore them and walk up to the counter and ask for a slice of pepperoni pizza with a side of sprite. After grabbing your pizza and drink, you took a seat near the back and began to eat quietly and leisurely.

A few minutes pass and you grab your phone with your free hand after wiping the wet perspiration of the sprite on your jacket. Unlocking your iPhone, you flip to see that you have a few messages from your long-lost sister, Rose. You might or might not have arranged to come to the same college as her. You can’t help it; you honestly love her and missed her ever since your parents split.

No. You are not going to get into your stupid past right now.

Going back to check those messages, you see that Rose was asking where you were so you guys could meet up with a few friends of hers. After texting her back to say that you’re at the pizzeria next to the café, she quickly replies that she is in fact _in_ the café next door. You text her to say that you’ll be there after you finish your pizza and lock your phone again.

After what seemed like forever, which was only about 15 minutes, you finished your pizza, cleaned your hands, threw your trash away, and took your drink with you to the café. Once inside, you’re hit with an air of coffee and god, did you hate the smell of coffee. You grimace and spot a blonde waving at you near the back. You couldn’t help but laugh since that was the same place you sat in the pizzeria. Twin senses, you guessed.

Upon walking in on her and her friends, you take note that there are two boys and two girls, not including you and Rose. You sit across from Rose and next to a guy with the darkest shade of hair but the brightest of eyes. Staring at them too long could make you sick to your stomach, and probably puke, so you turned your attention back at Rose.

“Dave. So nice of you to join us! Can we please do introductions for my dear brother, please?” Rose asks with a soft smile.

You can’t help but smile with her. Goddamn twin senses.

“I’m Jade!” A girl with long raven hair and vibrant green eyes spoke in an ecstatic tone.

“Hello, David. I’m Kanaya Maryam and I have heard much about you from Rose,” Another girl spoke. Her skin is a dark tanned brown and her short brunette hair is styled perfectly. You would like to point out that her eyes are an extreme mix shade of green and blue. Sort of like a jaded color.

The next person who spoke had a raspy voice and light brown hair. You had to look at him twice to realize that he had the same colored eyes as you, perhaps they’re even brighter. “I’m Karkat Vantas. Don’t get too comfortable around me.” You can tell that he’s going to be a good friend.

Last but not least was the boy sitting next to you with the sea blue eyes. “And I’m John! John Egbert. Nice to meet you Dave!” He reaches his hand out and you take hold of it to give him a manly shake. He smiles and puts his hand back down to his side as do you.

“Hey! That’s not fair. I didn’t know you guys had to tell Dave your last names!” Jade huffed and turned towards you with a toothy smile, “My full name is Jade Harley.” She gave a small laugh before continuing, “Sorry about that.”

“Nah, it’s cool,” you laugh lightly along with her. You can tell she’s cute and someone is definitely going to fall for her sooner or later.

The next couple of hours were spent getting to know each other’s majors and schedules. You also got pretty close to everyone and you’re so glad that Rose made such good friends.

Karkat is actually pretty fun being around. Jade is basically a grade A sniper and you know for a fact that you don’t want to get on her bad side. Kanaya is here for a fashion major thing and you took notice that her entire outfit is something that you have never seen before. A little part of you tells you that John might have a thing for Rose and your older brother instincts are kicking in. You’re going to need to take him down quickly but gently.

Since all the freshmen are required to live on campus, you, John, and Karkat walked back together to the male dormitory. Karkat had the luxury to live on the first floor which only left you and John in the elevator. You try not to make eye contact with him but you need to lay down the rules.

Giving a fake cough, you grab John’s attention and you take a moment to think about what you’re going to say.

“Look, John,” You pause for dramatic effect. “I don’t want to make any assumptions but you know that Rose and I are siblings. As the older bro, I need to protect her, y’know? So, if you have a thing for her, I just want to let you know that you’re going to need my permission if you wanna date her. Sorry for crushing your hopes and dreams and all that but an older bro’s gotta do what he’s gotta do.” You shrug and continue to look straight ahead, not sure if your words are going through to John’s head.

There was a brief silence before he breaks out with a soft giggle.

You turn your head to look at him to see why he’s laughing. He then directs his attention towards you and you nearly dart your head to look the opposite direction.

_Don’t look at his eyes._ You thought. _Holy shit, don’t look at them._

“Dave,” He speaks and you nod your head to let him know that you heard him. “Did Rose not tell you?”

You’re facing him again and holy shit, he’s got your full attention. “What?” You ask, almost anxiously.

“Rose and Kanaya are dating. But keep it on the down low. I just thought that you would have known but I’m guessing you don’t,” He grins at you and you can almost feel the pity in his eyes.

No. You’re not about to be pitied by the likes of him.

He’s already getting under your skin and you’re not even sure why.

“Yeah, I know bro. Still, I’m just saying that if you want to date her, you gotta talk to me first.”

John laughs again and when the elevator doors finally open on his floor, he steps out and turns around to ask if you wanted to get breakfast with him and Karkat tomorrow. You thought about it and were about to reply until the doors closed between you guys. You readjusted your pointed glasses on the bridge of your nose and step out on your floor when the doors opened again.

When you enter your dorm, you kick off your shoes, flop onto your bed and take out your phone. There were no new messages and the only new number you’ve gotten was Jade’s. You sigh and decide to confront Rose about this. You began to compose a text starting out with, “Hey Rose. I know you were probs going to tell me later but I just found out that you liked girls.” You quickly delete that message and decided to text her, “Let’s have some brother sister bonding time before breakfast tomorrow.” You sent the message and lie on your stomach with your chin resting on your pillow. Even if Rose is a lesbian, you’ll accept her just as you always have. You see her as your sister, the person who shares your past with you, and that is what she will stay as; your younger and beautiful sister.

You sigh and take off your shades to fold and set on your nightstand. Rolling onto your back, you reflect on today. Rose has grown up into a great young woman. Jade and John might or might not be related. You’re going to need to talk to Karkat someday because of his eye color. Kanaya seems like a fine person. You can see why Rose has fallen for her.

A good 20 minutes have passed by and you suddenly thought about John. Why must his eyes be such a certain shade of blue?

You close your eyes and imagine the ocean back in Texas. You remember it now. You were visiting the beach with your family when it was still a whole. The sea was so open and blue and it just drew you in. You asked for permission from your father before heading for the sea. When you first stepped in, it was cold but refreshing compared to the Texas heat. You liked this feeling and wanted it to cover you so you continued to walk into the water. The tide was pulling you in and you laugh, thinking that it probably wants to play with you too. Before you know it, you were floating and tried to find some land under your feet so you could go back to your family. The sea drew you back further and further before you could process what was happening. You flailed your arms and legs. You were shouting with every last breath to get you out of the sea. Your shades have fallen from your face and your whole body is now submerged in water. Your eyes are exposed to nothing but blue.

The buzzing of your phone knocked you awake. Your heart is racing and you’re sitting in cold sweat. You try to take a moment to look around and process everything but the impatient buzzing of your phone required your attention. Answering with a ragged voice, you’re greeted with Rose on the other end. You nod and hum at her a few times then hang up before forcing yourself off your bed and sauntering to your private bathroom.

Once you were finally finished with your morning routine, there was a knock at your door and a message from an unknown number in your phone. You disregard the message as it’s most likely from Rose and go to answer your door.

“Hold on, hold on, I’m comin’,” You say before unlocking and turning the door knob. Once you open your door, you’re standing there, frozen.

You are now standing face to face with John Egbert and holy shit; you just looked at him in the eye.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's just theorize this.

You’re drowning and you’re gasping for air. That’s what you need now. Air. All you need is air but the sea is preventing you from attaining any.

Air.

Just a breath.

Anything but the sea.

“Dave!”

You snap out of your hallucination and stare at John holding you firmly around your shoulders. He’s watching you intently with a worried look on his face. You’re confused. Why is he worried? He only met you yesterday, why should he care?

After John let you go, he shifts awkwardly in his spot and you give an exasperated sigh. “If you want to say something, you can. This _is_ America,” you say with a little hint of sass.

“Are you alright? I mean,” He starts waving his hands in front of him, “Not to be rude but you just sort of zoned out and you almost fell! You’re lucky I caught you!” He set his arms down and laughed lightly. “Or is it because you were so surprised to be picked up by me in the morning?”

“Heh, _really_? Is that the best line you can think of?” You smirk but you can’t tell if it’s because you’re irritated with him or because he’s trying to make you feel better and you know it. Instead, you ask him another question.

“How did you know my dorm number?”

“Lucky guess,” he replies shortly.

You’re not sure why but that gets you a little bothered and you can now label John as annoying.

“Didn’t you get my text?” John asked while pointing to your pocket.

Pulling out your phone, you read the text to yourself. “What room are you in? I’ll come pick you up. Karkat wants to sleep in today.” If you were in your normal state of mind, you would probably laugh or something but you just can’t bring yourself to do so in John’s presence.

“I’m just kidding, I asked the RA which room you were in,” John grinned and you almost just wanted to slap those fucking buck teeth out of his goddamn mouth.

Ignoring him, you locked your door before you made your way to the elevator. John follows and you noticed that he was biting his lip before you turned around. What’s getting him so worked up? The silence in the elevator increased when someone else had gotten on. When all three of you exited from the building, the stranger left for their own destination as you and John make your way to the breakfast hall.

Before you approach the building, John taps your shoulder and you turn to look at him. Well, not really, you’re more looking at any other facial structure than his eyes. “Sorry,” He nearly whispers. “Sorry? For what?” You inquire. He shrugs and looks towards the ground. You take notice that he’s taller than you by a good couple of inches but mentally shake your head to focus on John’s answer. “I don’t know. I think we got on bad terms this morning and last night. I mean, I didn’t want to offend you. I just wanted to say sorry for anything that I did. I really want to be friends with you is what I’m trying to say.” John finishes his statement with his hand out, expecting you to shake it as if you guys had a fight and he’s trying to make up with you.

You wave him off and say, “It’s not like we’re in a fight. Besides, we just met. We’re not on bad terms.” You then turn to make another attempt to head to the breakfast hall before John grabs a hold of your arm. His grip isn’t tight; on the contrary, it’s rather loose. Almost like a toddler holding on to his parent’s hand. You’re not sure why you’re letting this happen but you don’t pull away.

“What?” You hiss out. You really just want to talk to Rose about her sexuality, not waste your morning with Egbert. He looks at you, surprised that your tone has gone so harsh. From your point of view, you can probably see that John has never had anyone hate him and isn’t ready for someone to start. He’s biting his bottom lip again and you roll your eyes behind your pointed shades.

A couple of minutes pass by and you have been standing in the same spot with bustling silence between you and John. Suddenly, someone behind you was calling your name. John quickly let go of your arm and smiled at the unknown person and you stare at him dumbfounded. How could he go from an almost crying baby to a sincere adult in a matter of seconds? You stare at him for a few seconds trying to piece everything together but decide that there were more important matters to tend to.  When you turned around, you noticed that it was Jade. She waved at you two to follow her into the breakfast hall and you do so. You walk ahead of John whose strides are perfectly in sync with yours.

 _What does he want? There has to be something that I have and he wants it._ You grit your teeth thinking that he might be lying about Rose and Kanaya and just try to deter you from believing that he has the hots for your sister. Maybe he’s trying to get on your good side so you’ll, more than likely, allow him to date your sister.

Once everything is cleared with Rose during breakfast, all the truths are out and you take a moment to soak it in. Rose is _in fact_ a lesbian and you accept all of her choices. Kanaya and Rose love to have these funny little banters but everyone knows that it’s how they show that they’re comfortable with each other. Karkat is still in his dorm but Jade left early to drop him a plate of food. John is an enigma and you still can’t place a title on him. You thought that he would sit on the opposite side of the table, away from you, but instead, he sat right next to you as if you guys became best friends over night.

You’re not really annoyed with John. You’re just irritated that you can’t figure him out.

Summer passed and in the midst of autumn, you’re wearing a couple of layers of clothes and a jacket. Since classes began, you haven’t been seeing your little group as a whole lately. You see Jade before your noon class; John and Karkat at night in the freshmen dorms; and Rose is in your English class. Sometimes you see Kanaya on Tuesdays and wave at her. If you’re lucky, you guys have a small conversation with each other.

This morning, you wake up to a certain chill. Looking outside to see what’s up with the weather, you see that it’s cloudy and dreary. It’s barely even November and you’re already feeling the coldness of winter coming.

Dozing back to sleep and you’re so thankful that you don’t have any classes today. You just want to roll up into a cocoon of blankets and sweaters and just hibernate until tomorrow. However, a knock at your door is preventing you from your dream of becoming a beautiful butterfly. After much thinking, you get up, place your shades on, and drag your blanket with you as you answer the door.

 _Oh look, it’s John. What a surprise._ He’s the only other person to bother you in your dorm besides Rose. He’s only wearing a jacket and a scarf and you’re almost jealous that he can stand the cold. “Hey, Dave,” He smiles at you. You lazily nod in return and shudder a bit because of the draft flowing through your blanket. “What did you need?” You asked in a sleepy voice. The tension between you two have lessened through time. Whenever you guys would hang out, there would always be a third party involved and you wouldn't even noticed if John wasn’t always saying your name.

“I was wondering if you wanted to hang out today,” He says with that signature smile on his face, something that you could care less about. You sigh and he stares at you for your approval. “Sure,” You say. You swear you saw him jump in happiness or something.

“Is it alright if I wait in your room while you get ready?” He asks while positioning himself as if he knows you’re going to say yes, which you do. You’re not sure why but you feel like he’s a good kid and you’re just treating him like the enemy since day one for no reason. Maybe if you push out all these negative feelings, you could be good friends with him. Today is the day to test out that theory.

John sits on your bed as you go to take a shower. When you finally step out, you sluggishly dried your hair with little to no effort and dressed yourself in your bathroom. You wiped your shades with your shirt from the fog of the shower and placed them on before heading out of the bathroom.  You see John lying down on your bed and playing on his phone. You throw your towel at him to get his attention.

He laughs and throws it back at you but you catch it before it lands on your face. “Yo, watch the merchandise. Don’t want to ruin this perfect face, do you?” You give a light smirk and gesture to your face as if you were trying to sell it like a cars salesman.

John giggles and gets up from your bed to take your towel and drop it on top of your head. “Yeah right. Does this _merchandise_ know that you’re supposed to dry your hair fully before walking into cold weather? I think not.”

You take the towel into your hands and walk back to the bathroom. “Yes, whatever you say, mother,” You joked. John only laughed and once your hair was fully dried, you hang your towel back up, pull on a few shirts, slip your shoes on, and a jacket to top everything off before placing a hand on your doorknob.

“You comin’ or what?” You asked.

John scrambled to get up from your bed and quickly makes his way to your door as you open it. When walking out of your building in silence, you smile because this silence wasn’t as awkward as it was before. You’re the first to break the silence and question, “So what did you have in mind?”

After thinking for a moment, John answers, “Since it’s cold, how about some coffee?” You scowl at that suggestion but decide that having a hot drink doesn’t sound that bad right about now, especially since your hands are freezing in your pockets. Maybe you should invest in some gloves.

Making your way to the café, you order a hot chocolate while John orders his usual black coffee and proceeds to dump loads of cream and sugar in it. Taking a seat at the same table you once sat in when you first came in here, you sigh and place your hot chocolate on the counter top. It’s too hot to drink right now so you’re just letting it warm your fingers gingerly. John sits across from you this time and asks you jokingly as to why you ordered a hot chocolate. When you explained to him that you find coffee disgusting, he’s taken back and offers you his coffee.

“Nah man, you just drank out of it. It might have some disease or something,” You laugh and hold onto your hot chocolate as the heat was fading away slowly.

“What? Dave, please,” He retorts and you take a mental note that he has said your name more than five times while in this coffee shop. “Come on, just try it! Trust me!” He’s scooting his drink over to you and you frown slightly. If only coffee wasn’t so damn bitter and gross, maybe you would have liked it but nope.

“Pleeeeaaaaase, Dave? Pretty please? I promise that you’ll love it. Come on, Dave!” John continues to babble on and you set your hot chocolate to the side to take his coffee in hand. “Fine bro, but if I don’t like it, I’m going to spit in back in the cup,” You state harshly and bring the cup up to your mouth. You take a small sip cautiously and place the cup back down on the table. Holy fuck, that was good. It wasn’t bitter but it still had that weird smell to it. It was actually really sweet and you go in for another drink.

Without you knowing, across the table, there was a smiling John whose elbows are resting on the table as you drink about half of his coffee. Okay, that’s more than enough. The smell is getting to you and you don’t think you can handle any more it. Your cheeks are warm from the sudden intake of a somewhat hot beverage but you hand John back his coffee and look away even though he probably couldn’t tell because of your shades.

“Meh. It’s pretty good. I don’t hate it as much as I used to, but I like it,” You say while crossing your arms and leaning back into your chair. John only grins at you and you two spend the rest of the time in the café getting to know each other on a personal level.

When you finish with your drinks, you get up to throw it away and John follows suit. That was when you finally got another look outside and frowned at the weather. It’s pouring and neither of you guys have an umbrella. Given that you have a hood but it probably won’t keep you dry enough to get back to the freshman building.

“Well, we can stay here until the rain blows over or we can run and try to see if we can make it,” John comments over your shoulder.

A woman who works behind the counter offers to give you her umbrella but she says that she only has one. John grabbed it and was more than willing to share but you’d rather not push yourself out of your comfort zone too much in one day. John sees you debating and gives you the umbrella instead. “Don’t want to ruin the merchandise, right, Dave?” John laughs and you couldn’t help but take a moment to laugh with him.

He pulls his hood over his bed head and waits for you to get ready before making your way to the door. Opening the umbrella, you put it over yourself and walk at your normal pace and John’s right next to you. The rain is heavy and you’re starting to feel like a dick for taking the only shelter. “Here, bro,” you say as you stop and pull your hood over your head before handing him the umbrella. He says he doesn’t need it and pushes it back over you but you insist. Finally, you both agree that both of you wouldn’t use the umbrella and now both of you are frantically running back to your building.

When you run inside and into the elevator, you and John take a moment to catch your breaths before John breaks out in laughter which you join him in. You haven’t laughed this hard in a long time and honestly, it felt kind of good.

With the umbrella in John’s hand, he steps out onto his floor and says, “See you tomorrow, Dave!”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow,” You reply.

You’re still chuckling as you made your way to your dorm. Once inside, you take off your pointy anime shades and give a sincere smile.

Maybe your theory was correct.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already created the first two chapters so the other chapters might come out a little later compared to these two. Hopefully I'll be able to write when I have spring break. Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If it's not broken, don't fix it.

You’re floating; casually flying through the sky as if this is your home. The wind is playing with your hair, blowing and tugging it in every direction and you let it.

With your arms stretched out wide, you let the wind surround you and carry you away.

That is, before you’re woken up by your roommate’s obnoxiously loud alarm clock.

“John, I believe that it is time to rise and shine,” Equius speaks.

You roll to your side to check your time and groan. Sometimes, it’s great having Equius as your roommate but when he has classes at 8 am and you don’t, you almost wished you could have bought a single bed room.

“John?”

“Mm I’m up, I’m up,” you say with a mumble before literally rolling onto the ground and going into a fetal position.

“John, please. Waking up early is a virtue that must be experienced.”

You know for a fact that Equius wouldn’t leave you alone until you’re already half dressed, and by that time, you wouldn’t want to go back to sleep. Instead of arguing with him in a childish manner, you get up and grab your little shower caddie with your toothbrush and the works. Going out of your dorm and into the community bathroom, you begin to take a shower and brush your teeth after. Back in your dorm, you change out of your pajamas and into something more presentable since Equius already left. Once you’re finished, you debate on what you should do today.

Heading out, you knock on Karkat’s door. After two or three times of trying, you’re greeted by his roommate Sollux. You greet him and he frowns at you saying that Kk already left. You sigh, thank him, and bid him a farewell before leaving for the elevator.

The elevator stops at the top floor and you walk a few doors down before stopping and knocking on a certain person’s entrance. Waiting for a minute or two, the door opens and you wave happily to a groggy Dave.

“It’s fucking 8:50 am, Egbert,” he has his blanket wrapped around him again. You wouldn’t blame him. The winters in Washington are not to be messed with, especially if you came from Texas.

“Hey! You’re lucky you don’t have a roommate who acts like an overbearing mother! I practically was forced out of my own dorm,” you motion your arms along with your speech to add more emphasis.

He only groans at you and attempts to close the door. You place your hand on said door to stop it in place.

You hate to admit it but you’re desperate for a friend.

“Come on, Dave! I’ll even buy you breakfast!”

“We get free breakfast in the breakfast hall, or did you not remember?” You could tell he’s irritated. It almost reminds you of a cranky child who hasn’t gotten enough sleep and you smile slightly.

“Yeah, I remember, but how about-“ you were cut off by Dave placing his blanket covered hand over your mouth.

“If I agree to hang out with you, will you let me sleep just a little bit longer?” He asks with a slight sound of desperation in his voice.

You nod to his agreement but ask him if you could lounge in this room. He calls you a creep for wanting to watch him sleep but his small smile means that there’s a 95% chance that he’ll say yes. You explain to him that if you go back to your dorm and sleep, your roommate might come back and attempt to lecture you about the pros of waking up early. He waves you off and walks back into his dorm with you following close behind.

Dave lies on his bed and you sit at his desk, fiddling with a pen that was lying around. You were about to start another quick conversation before you hear a light snoring coming from Dave’s cocoon of a blanket. Grinning, you go back to messing with Dave’s pen. You begin to become bored of it and pull out your phone to play a few apps.

Before you knew it, you laid your head onto Dave’s desk and decided to take a quick nap in order to make up for the loss hours this morning.

Waking up, you realize that you’re lying down on Dave’s bed and look around in confusion. The bathroom door is open and you can hear a brushing sound along with a spit and gurgle before Dave walks out. When he noticed that you were awake, he smirked and commented about how you were a heavy person _and_ a heavy sleeper. Piecing the puzzle together, you conclude that Dave placed you to his bed after he had gotten up. You ask him why and he only shrugged and said that Rose used to sleep at her desk a lot so he’s used to putting her to bed. He makes a snide comment about how you were heavier than Rose so he practically dragged you to his bed instead.

“Wow, thanks, Dave,” you reply just as sarcastically.

“Hey, it’s better than waking up with a cramp in your neck,” he shrugged his shoulders again and you have no choice but to nod in approval because he _was_ right.

After much bickering, you two left the freshmen dorms to finally have some friendship bonding time watching movies. You’re so glad that after everything, you and Dave managed to become really close and it warms your heart.

You two were taking a shortcut through the park to get to the theater since Dave keeps on complaining on how cold it is. Seeing that there’s light snow sticking to the ground, you pat Dave on the back before slipping your hand back into your pocket. You had to admit that it _was_ kind of cold.

Walking behind Dave a little, you watch his hair as it casually bounces slightly while he walks. You can’t help but smile and think that’s adorable.

Then it happened in a flash.

There was a smack and Dave fell over, his pointed glasses falling from his face and breaking into pieces on the sidewalk. You turn to assess what just happened and saw a few other college kids yell that they were sorry about a snowball that had gotten out of hand. In a split second, you turn to face Dave once more before he covered his eyes with his hands as he kneels on the ground. It was only a glimpse but you finally saw them.

His eyes.

You weren’t as taken back as you normally would have been since you’ve known Karkat for a while now. So you just got used to it and accepted the fact that abnormal eye colors are rare but they do exist.

Everything was silent.

Dave was still on the ground holding his hands over his eyes in shock. Honestly, he was too stunned to react quickly enough and something deep down inside of you burned and you nearly turned to glare at those stupid kids. There were more important matters to deal with, however.

You quickly cover his hands softly with your own as you slowly guide him along with you.

“Trust me,” you whisper. “I’ve got you, Dave. It’s okay, Dave. I’m here.”

After managing to give at least one fierce look at those groups of kids, you quickly make your way back to the freshmen dorms and into your room. Thanking God that Equius wasn’t here, you let Dave sit on your bed and remove your hand from on top of his hands. You try to turn around and find a solution to help this situation but before you could take it a step, Dave grabbed your jacket desperately.

His eyes were still covered and you could tell he was scared but you reassured him that you’ll fix this.

When he was finished contemplating, he let your jacket go as you go to quickly rummage through your boxes to find that one item that you currently really need.

Yelling, “AHA,” as you found it, you quickly make your ways towards Dave and basically kneel down in front of him.

“Dave, I’m going to ask you for a favor,” you state with a small voice. “Can you please remove your hands from your eyes?”

You can _see_ him flinch at your request but you wait patiently. Eventually he nods and slowly puts his hands down to his sides. His eyes are closed but the fear was still visible on his face.

This is what caught you off guard however. Dave didn’t seem like the guy to ever lose his cool under circumstances like this. A few seconds pass and you didn’t even realize that you were still staring at him until he softly whispers your name in desperation. Snapping out of your trance, you softly place your item over Dave’s eyes and you know that he can feel it too.

“Okay, you can open your eyes, Dave.”

He does so and you give a reassuring smile as he touches the new aviators on his face.

“They’re a collectable. They even touched Ben Stiller’s face!” You grin and hope that he was alright with this. “I know they’re not like your old ones but consider them an early birthday present. You and Rose are twins right? Isn’t her birthday on the fourth of December?”

You were about to continue your blabbering until Dave’s soft voice intervened.

“My birthday’s on the third. We were born a few minutes apart between midnight. That’s how we have different birthdays.”

You then stare at him like this was the most interesting fact that you have ever learned in your life. Well, it came close.

“Well, happy early birthday then,” you smile and stand back up.

“Did you still want to see some movies?” You ask but Dave only shakes his head a little and you’re worried that Dave is still worked up about what happened. You want to make him feel better but the only way you know how is to be you.

“Wait here until I get back,” you say as you leave your dorm.

Jogging a ways away, you stop at a small convenience store and pick up a box of popcorn before going to a Walgreens and renting a couple of movies. Making your way back to your dorm, you hid the bag behind your back and ask if you could hang out in Dave’s room because you know Equius could be back in an hour or two. He reluctantly agrees and once he leaves your room, you close the door and microwave the popcorn. Thank god it’s one of those with its own bowl.

Taking your laptop, with the charger of course, movies, and popcorn, you go up the elevator to Dave’s room. After a couple of knocks, Dave answered the door and is back in his pajamas and covered in his blanket again. You smile and hold up your popcorn and movies which only makes Dave smile at you. The blonde’s smile made your heart warm.

Sitting on Dave’s bed with your laptop in front of you guys, you set the popcorn between you and him before starting the movie.

As the day progressed, you left a few times to get food for the both of you and overall just comforted Dave from his almost anxiety attack.

It was getting late and you had classes tomorrow. Getting up from Dave’s bed, you say that you better get going but he only looks at you like a lost child. You promise that you’ll see him tomorrow morning but he only looks away as if he was betrayed. Seeing Dave act like this hurt you but also made you anxious.

“I mean, if you don’t mind, I could probably spend the night,” you say as you scratch the back of your neck slightly. Even you’re not sure why you’re getting flustered.

Dave only smiles and mumbles, “Yeah, I’d like that.”

Something in your chest practically heaves and a big goofy smile is formed from your lips.

“Alright, let me go change and I’ll be back in like, ten minutes.”

Dave nods and you quickly go back to your dorm to do as you said. Dashing back to Dave’s dorm once again, you bring an extra pillow and throw it at Dave’s torso. You were thinking that you would probably sleep on the ground or something but that was before Dave placed your pillow next to his that you were finally getting the idea.

As night falls, Dave wraps you in his blanket after seeing you shivering slightly. You thank him and note that the blanket was partially warm and you smile. By the time you were on you on your tenth movie or so, you laid back and Dave joined you.

Your eyes decided to close and you wandered off to sleep. Without your knowledge, Dave followed suit and wrapped an arm around your torso as he buried his face into your chest with his head under the blanket. Sure you weren’t as busty as Rose but it was close enough, thought Dave. He took your shades, well now they’re his shades, off and placed them above you as he drifted off to sleep.

You were half awake when you swore you heard Dave murmur a soft thank you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, sorry if there's any grammar mistakes. English is my second language and wow, i'm sorry if it's so obvious.   
> Thank you for reading chapter 3!

**Author's Note:**

> A huge thanks to Chibali for editing and prereading this!


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